Yeah, Yay, Yea, and Yep

Here's a collection of affirmatives that many people seem to get wrong or mixed up:

Yeah – as in "yeah, I'd like to go see that movie." It's not "yah or yea."

Yay – as in "yay! I get an extra day off next week!" Not to be confused with yea…

Yea – as in "Does the jury find the defendant guilty? Yea or nay." It is not a substitute for "yay."

Yep – as in "Want a beer?" "Yep." It's not "yeap," which is not actually a word.

I try not to let poor spelling on the Internet annoy me. I try but I fail mightily, most of the time. Also, as always, I like to clarify that my admonishments are only for native English speakers. If I were trying to communicate in another language, I'm sure I'd make lots of errors.